Education
Curators
Administer collections, such as artwork, collectibles, historic items, or scientific specimens of museums or other institutions. May conduct instructional, research, or public service activities of institution.
Median salary (BLS)
$63,420
10th–90th percentile (BLS)
$40k – $107k
Job outlook
+7% (faster than average)
AI exposure
Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $85,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.
Plan a path to Curators
Education
Typical entry: Master's degree
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Junior Curators
Entry / Junior
$40,470
~2 yrs to advance
Curators
Established
$63,420
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Curators
Senior
$85,280
Key skills
A typical day
- •Plan and organize the acquisition, storage, and exhibition of collections and related materials, including the selection of exhibition themes and designs, and develop or install exhibit materials.
- •Develop and maintain an institution's registration, cataloging, and basic record-keeping systems, using computer databases.
- •Plan and conduct special research projects in area of interest or expertise.
- •Provide information from the institution's holdings to other curators and to the public.
- •Negotiate and authorize purchase, sale, exchange, or loan of collections.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Education
Explore all- University of Michigan18% admit · $87,000 grad pay
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill19% admit · $73,000 grad pay
- University of Wisconsin–Madison49% admit · $72,000 grad pay
- Vanderbilt University7% admit · $88,000 grad pay
- University of Virginia19% admit · $85,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.